SOOOO MANY Of THESE ANY IDEAS??!!

[perfectdark]

Ok so I have had my tank up for some time now and i have noticed quite a few hitchikers which is cool. But my question to you all is, do you notice any of your snails reproducing in your tanks? As of latley I have come home from work to find 2 really interesting things. One being these really really, I mean really small snails all over the glass of my tank. So small I cant get a picture of them but I have counted over 100 of these things. The second thing I have noticed on my tank glass was these little white pod casing looking things. Also so small you can hardly see them. When you look up close to them you can barley make it out but you can see individual white eggs in each of these pods. And they are laid out across the glass like a snail moves. I concluded these are snail eggs but I am not sure. Oh and lastly there are these, AGAIN....very very small almost arrow shaped little organisms on my glass they almost look like snails with out a shell moving around the glass.. thats the best way I can describe them. I am going to look for pictures of what they look like if anyone has any ideas please tell me. Thanks.

 

[reefkprz]

hate to say it but it sounds like flat worms to me, the casings I'm not sure at all.

 

[perfectdark]

UGGHHH I was straying away from even mentioning that.. I hope not...I did find out the casings are most likley nassarus snail casings with eggs.. rounded casings smooth edges, and little white eggs in them. Although the tiny snails are just too little to identify just yet.

 

[perfectdark]

Yep flat worms for sure not a ton but there are quite a few... ok one out of 3 ID'd...

 

[reefkprz]

as for the really small snails they could be strombus maculatus, I have some they breed regularly in the aquarium and lay eggs in little round pouches obn the glass or rock, the bamies are miniscule and the adults top out at about 1/4 to 3/8ths of an inch.
I had to reread your post.

 

[reefkprz]

* Species: Strombus maculatus
* Taxonomy: prosobranch gastropod mollusc
* Maximum size: 1/2 inch
* Diet: diatoms, algal films, low turf algae
*Benefit to reef tank: algal grazing and egg production
* Number of egg capsules produced: 2-4 per spawning event
* Number of eggs per capsule: 4-10
* Time to hatching: 3-4 weeks
* Type of development: benthic, direct (no planktonic phase)

 

[perfectdark]

I am comming to the conclusion thats what these things are.. I have looked them up too. Its very possible, and the egg sacks fit the description to a Tee. I need to snap a shot of them and possibly the babies if I can. Thanks for your help.

 

[reefkprz]

hold on I posted a pic of an adult a while back i'll see if I can find it.

 

[reefkprz]

https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/show...light=strombus
scroll down through that thread and you'll see two adults.

 

[perfectdark]

INDEED!!! that is exactly what I got. Good to know..THANKS>....
Hey guess what? I got snails for sale!! LOL

MAN do i have a ton of these things.. like I said 100 easy just to start and I know there are more I have been seeing the babies for quite some time now just thought they were hitchikers on my LR. Now for the first time I have seen the eggs and they are everywhere.

 

[reefkprz]

your welcome

 

[clay12340]

I've got the strombus in one of my tanks as well. They breed like crazy although, I don't usually see too many tiny tiny ones. Do you guys have trouble with these things blocking your hydor flos? The big ones crawl all over the thing and end up lodging themselves in it and locking up the rotation.
Also look up some pics of peppermint and colonista snails. They are both really common hitch hikers that have a knack for making babies in the reef aquarium. My little 3 gallon has about 30 colonistas visible at any one time, so I can only guess how many of them are actually present.

 

[blazin2k6]

Hey i just got 2 snails and 2 small crabs at the lfs yesterday and just read your post earlier and when i got home i found one of those small snail looking things on my glass as well. Did yall come to a conclusion if they are bad or good for the tank ? Because i have only had my tank running for 4 days now. So i don't wanna be getting too many of those things in it. Is there anything that would eat them or should i just remove the tiny snails ?

 

[perfectdark]

Originally Posted by Clay12340
I've got the strombus in one of my tanks as well. They breed like crazy although, I don't usually see too many tiny tiny ones. Do you guys have trouble with these things blocking your hydor flos? The big ones crawl all over the thing and end up lodging themselves in it and locking up the rotation.
Also look up some pics of peppermint and colonista snails. They are both really common hitch hikers that have a knack for making babies in the reef aquarium. My little 3 gallon has about 30 colonistas visible at any one time, so I can only guess how many of them are actually present.
Not so far... although its funny you mention that, I was curious what would happen should a small invert get hung up in there. I actually had one of the molts from my cleaner shrimp get sucked into it though. It looked like grated cheese on the way out. And quite frequently I have found my large turbo snail hitching a ride on my hydor.. its extremly funny to see he just spins around and around for hours. It reminds me of the cartoons where they get stuck in the celing fans.

 

[perfectdark]

Originally Posted by Blazin2k6
Hey i just got 2 snails and 2 small crabs at the lfs yesterday and just read your post earlier and when i got home i found one of those small snail looking things on my glass as well. Did yall come to a conclusion if they are bad or good for the tank ? Because i have only had my tank running for 4 days now. So i don't wanna be getting too many of those things in it. Is there anything that would eat them or should i just remove the tiny snails ?

I am not too familiar with snail ID although most hitchikers are reef safe and cool to get there are some that feed on corals and are not so good. If I were to guess your new inhabitants are fine but pics and research are always good for peace of mind.

 

[blazin2k6]

Ok now i am starting to really get worried, You know i said i just found a tiny like baby snail on my glass. I got rid of it but now i was looking at my liverock for like 10 minutes or so and i seen a red like worm maybe 1 inch long and another tiny like bug thing running away from it. Um... if i had a good enough cam i would take a picture but my camera wont zoom in that great to snap a shot is this bad ? is there anything i could buy to get rid of them ? i have only a damsel,2 snail,2 crab. And some hitchikers on my LR looks like. Let me know what to do. Thanks

 

[perfectdark]

There are litterally hunderds of hitch hikers you prob havent even seen living on your LR. Very common to reef aqariums and the harder and more frequently you look the more of them you will see. Worms are very common in reef systems and most ride in on LR or Corals attached to LR. I just bought 2 handfuls of Chaeto and upon dipping it I found about 20 bristle worms in it, one was about 3" long. I did take them out because I know I have more in my tank and although they are not harmful an overpopulated tank of worms is unsightly. More than likely your worm is a bristle worm and there are prob more you havent seen. Be carful if you decide to remove it as there are some species called fire worms and their sting is quite painful.

 

[blazin2k6]

yeah that is what the lfs said that i bought the LR from. He said it is a good sign that i am doing something right in the aquarium for that type of thing to be showing up. So i will leave them be. And yes he said it would also sting if i tried to touch it or anything. Hey how long do you think would be a good time for me to wait on putting a Cleaner shrimp in there ? I wanted to get a fire shrimp but the lfs said i should wait 3-4 months. Seems kind of long. Well thanks.

 

[perfectdark]

How long has your tank been set up? As long as your cycle is complete how ever long that takes you. IMO you can add one. I did about 2 weeks after start up, 6 months later hes still going.
I have never had one sting me and there are notable differences between a normal bristle worm and a fire worm. But I have seen some one get stung by one, quite humorus actually. From what I have seen Fire Worms are bright red or brighter than the brownish bristle worms with white stinging hairs running latterally down their sides.

 

[blazin2k6]

Yeah the worm is almost a bright red indeed and has i guess stinging hairs coming out its side down its entire body. I also believe the bugs i was talking about are Copepods. Dont know where they came from but they are swimming like crazy under a LR. Going back in forth in a little cavern. HAHA. They are most exciting thing in my tank. The little yellow tailed damsel is kinda cool but always running when get close to the tank. Thanks for info on the shrimp. I think i will put one in a week or so. Would it be any difference if i put a Fire Shrimp Versus a Cleaner shrimp. Will they do the same thing pretty much ?